CHILDREN'S DESIGN NAIL ARTS

How do you get a children's book published?

I'm sure there are many varied answers to this question depending on who you ask. I can give you my experiences and advice.

I had been writing for five years before I had my first book accepted by a publisher. I joined a writers' centre, completed several writing courses specific to children's fiction, read many books about writing for children, and joined a writing group for children's authors. I learned everything that I could about writing for children and wrote, wrote, wrote. I call this my apprenticeship.

One evening, I went to the writing group for children's authors and one of the members had a letter from a publisher who was looking for submissions. She photocopied the letter for whoever wanted a copy. I almost snatched a copy from her hand, I was eager for an opportunity to submit, especially to a publisher who actually asked for submissions.

I sent off 31 little stories to the publisher. Then, like all good writers, forgot about the submission and went on with my next project.

Months later, I received that magical letter in the post. "We'd like to publish..." The publisher accepted 3 of my little stories. Of course, I did that little dance for joy. Then another one.

It helps to know what publishers are looking for at a given time. Writers' groups and writers' centre are useful sources of information. Publishing information and guidelines are often available on websites. A telephone call to a publisher can sometimes help but there are many publishers who don't know what they want until it lands on their desk.

My next experience was a similar experience. I found out through a friend from another writing group that a publisher was looking for novels of around 4,000 words. I sent 4 off and had 3 accepted.

Not long after this, I found out from another friend from the same writing group that a publisher was looking for short stories. The big difference in this experience was that the publisher was known for commissioning 95% of his work.

Now writers are a stubborn bunch. Otherwise we wouldn't keep writing. And we're not put off by news that a publisher commissions most of their work after we find out that they're looking for short stories.

My friend and I sent off a couple of texts. The publisher sent me an email that went something like this "I can see that you've done this before." I'm now one of his commissioned authors and I have 40 published titles with this publisher.

Afterwards, we found out that the publisher had sent an email to his writers telling them about his project and asking for submissions. He'd received very little response, so he was desperate for new blood. We came along at the right time.

My experience provides several important points about getting published.

1. Learn everything you can about writing. And write as much as you can. Publishers receive an enormous number of submissions, so even when you know what they are looking for, you have to get your manuscript on their shortlist. Writing for children is a skill. You need to learn how to do it. Then you need to practise, practise and practise to do it well.

2. Read current children's books. Reading helps you improve your own writing skills as you subconsciously take in the language and style of other writers. It also helps you keep abreast with what is being published.

3. Join writers' centres and organizations, writing groups, chat groups, subscribe to newsletters. Check publishers' websites, enquire about publishing programs. Go to writer seminars and conferences. Do everything you can to put yourself in the right place at the right time.

4. Learn about the industry and the market. Keep abreast with changes.

5. Be professional. Make writing your business.

6. Always submit your very best work. Have a manuscript assessment done on your work if necessary.

7. If you know that a publisher is looking for a certain type of story - i.e. a certain word length or genre - submit as many of your manuscripts that fit the bill. But make sure that they are your best work. Writing is a numbers game. The more you submit, the more chance you have of being accepted.

Persistence is one secret of success. Persistence means hard work and commitment.

Another secret of success is being in the right place at the right time. Someone has to be there, why not you?

CHILDREN'S DESIGN NAIL ARTS

How do you get a children's book published?

I'm sure there are many varied answers to this question depending on who you ask. I can give you my experiences and advice.

I had been writing for five years before I had my first book accepted by a publisher. I joined a writers' centre, completed several writing courses specific to children's fiction, read many books about writing for children, and joined a writing group for children's authors. I learned everything that I could about writing for children and wrote, wrote, wrote. I call this my apprenticeship.

One evening, I went to the writing group for children's authors and one of the members had a letter from a publisher who was looking for submissions. She photocopied the letter for whoever wanted a copy. I almost snatched a copy from her hand, I was eager for an opportunity to submit, especially to a publisher who actually asked for submissions.

I sent off 31 little stories to the publisher. Then, like all good writers, forgot about the submission and went on with my next project.

Months later, I received that magical letter in the post. "We'd like to publish..." The publisher accepted 3 of my little stories. Of course, I did that little dance for joy. Then another one.

It helps to know what publishers are looking for at a given time. Writers' groups and writers' centre are useful sources of information. Publishing information and guidelines are often available on websites. A telephone call to a publisher can sometimes help but there are many publishers who don't know what they want until it lands on their desk.

My next experience was a similar experience. I found out through a friend from another writing group that a publisher was looking for novels of around 4,000 words. I sent 4 off and had 3 accepted.

Not long after this, I found out from another friend from the same writing group that a publisher was looking for short stories. The big difference in this experience was that the publisher was known for commissioning 95% of his work.

Now writers are a stubborn bunch. Otherwise we wouldn't keep writing. And we're not put off by news that a publisher commissions most of their work after we find out that they're looking for short stories.

My friend and I sent off a couple of texts. The publisher sent me an email that went something like this "I can see that you've done this before." I'm now one of his commissioned authors and I have 40 published titles with this publisher.

Afterwards, we found out that the publisher had sent an email to his writers telling them about his project and asking for submissions. He'd received very little response, so he was desperate for new blood. We came along at the right time.

My experience provides several important points about getting published.

1. Learn everything you can about writing. And write as much as you can. Publishers receive an enormous number of submissions, so even when you know what they are looking for, you have to get your manuscript on their shortlist. Writing for children is a skill. You need to learn how to do it. Then you need to practise, practise and practise to do it well.

2. Read current children's books. Reading helps you improve your own writing skills as you subconsciously take in the language and style of other writers. It also helps you keep abreast with what is being published.

3. Join writers' centres and organizations, writing groups, chat groups, subscribe to newsletters. Check publishers' websites, enquire about publishing programs. Go to writer seminars and conferences. Do everything you can to put yourself in the right place at the right time.

4. Learn about the industry and the market. Keep abreast with changes.

5. Be professional. Make writing your business.

6. Always submit your very best work. Have a manuscript assessment done on your work if necessary.

7. If you know that a publisher is looking for a certain type of story - i.e. a certain word length or genre - submit as many of your manuscripts that fit the bill. But make sure that they are your best work. Writing is a numbers game. The more you submit, the more chance you have of being accepted.

Persistence is one secret of success. Persistence means hard work and commitment.

Another secret of success is being in the right place at the right time. Someone has to be there, why not you?

START DESIGN NAIL ARTS

So you want to write a children's book. Great! Writing for children is a wonderful hobby or occupation (as in my case).

But where does one start? What does one need to do to become a children's author? How did I become a published children's author?

Actually, I decided that I wanted to be a writer before I decided that I wanted to write children's books. The first thing I did after realising that I wanted to be a writer was join our local writers' centre. Then I joined a romance writers' group. Writing romance seemed like a good idea at the time. At a meeting of the romance writers' group I met several writers who were also writing children's books.

I hadn't read a children's book in quite a few years. And I hadn't considered writing for children. But the prospect interested me, so off I went to my local library. A visit to my library can take me a good hour (or more) as I study the shelves for books published in the past year or two.

While at the library, I also looked for non-fiction books about writing children's books. I've read every book on writing for children that I could find in the libraries around my city. I'm a member of a lot of different libraries. It's a joke with me that I collect libraries like some people collect stamps.

Next, I investigated a number of courses about writing children's books. I settled on an eight week course run by a local college. It covered everything I needed to know about writing for children (well, almost everything) at a very reasonable rate. Later, I completed a picture book course run by an adult education facility.

I call all of this reading and studying my apprenticeship. A writer has to learn how to write a book just as a pilot has to learn how to fly a plane.

After all this learning and writing I was ready to send my work to a manuscript assessment agency, other writers or my local writers' centre to gain feedback on my writing. I needed to know what I was doing wrong, as well as what I was doing right. This critical assessment of my work was part of my education.

It's through the writers' groups I belong to that I learnt about the publishing opportunities which lead to most of my books. Therefore I'm a big fan of networking.

I'm also a big fan of knowledge and practice, as my main publisher said to me in his first email: "you've obviously done this before". Another publisher recently noted in an email to me: "someone who understands a lot about picture book structure".

So, to reiterate, my advice is:

a) Join writers' groups. Local and/or online writers' groups. By joining writers' groups you hope to network, learn about the publishing world, obtain feedback on your work and make friends with similar interests.

b) Read a lot of recent children's books. Take notice of what you like and what seems to work. Study the writing. You're reading for research first, pleasure second.

When I visit the local library I look for recent releases. It's important to keep up with the market and what's being published. If you're writing a book about a comet hurtling towards Earth and a book with a similar storyline has been published in the last year, your story is unlikely to be published, no matter how good it is.

c) Read a lot of books about writing for children. It can help to read books about writing in general. But children's books are a specialised field. For example, you need to know the different types of children's books for the various age groups - the word lengths, language, style etc.

d) Write the type of children's books you enjoy the most. Write every day if possible. Practice makes you a better writer. Practice/repetition is how we learn and master tasks.

e) Take courses on writing for children. The writing for children course I did, many years ago, involved weekly writing assignments. I wrote a picture book, easy reader, early chapter book and sections of longer novels, which were all marked by my tutor. Two of my first six published titles were written during this course.

f) Have your manuscripts assessed by a reputable manuscript assessment service. Due to the volume of submissions publishers receive and the quality of some of these submissions, many publishers are now requesting a manuscript assessment accompany every submission.

g) Write down your dreams and goals. Look at them every day. Break them down into small steps if necessary. Your writing activities should move you towards your writing dreams and goals.

h) Enter competitions. Write articles and short stories. Seek ways of filling your writer's cv with publishing credits.

Now you're on your way. From this point on, the secret to becoming a children's author is persistence. I've read and heard quotes from many authors who claim that the secret to their success is persistence.

START DESIGN NAIL ARTS

So you want to write a children's book. Great! Writing for children is a wonderful hobby or occupation (as in my case).

But where does one start? What does one need to do to become a children's author? How did I become a published children's author?

Actually, I decided that I wanted to be a writer before I decided that I wanted to write children's books. The first thing I did after realising that I wanted to be a writer was join our local writers' centre. Then I joined a romance writers' group. Writing romance seemed like a good idea at the time. At a meeting of the romance writers' group I met several writers who were also writing children's books.

I hadn't read a children's book in quite a few years. And I hadn't considered writing for children. But the prospect interested me, so off I went to my local library. A visit to my library can take me a good hour (or more) as I study the shelves for books published in the past year or two.

While at the library, I also looked for non-fiction books about writing children's books. I've read every book on writing for children that I could find in the libraries around my city. I'm a member of a lot of different libraries. It's a joke with me that I collect libraries like some people collect stamps.

Next, I investigated a number of courses about writing children's books. I settled on an eight week course run by a local college. It covered everything I needed to know about writing for children (well, almost everything) at a very reasonable rate. Later, I completed a picture book course run by an adult education facility.

I call all of this reading and studying my apprenticeship. A writer has to learn how to write a book just as a pilot has to learn how to fly a plane.

After all this learning and writing I was ready to send my work to a manuscript assessment agency, other writers or my local writers' centre to gain feedback on my writing. I needed to know what I was doing wrong, as well as what I was doing right. This critical assessment of my work was part of my education.

It's through the writers' groups I belong to that I learnt about the publishing opportunities which lead to most of my books. Therefore I'm a big fan of networking.

I'm also a big fan of knowledge and practice, as my main publisher said to me in his first email: "you've obviously done this before". Another publisher recently noted in an email to me: "someone who understands a lot about picture book structure".

So, to reiterate, my advice is:

a) Join writers' groups. Local and/or online writers' groups. By joining writers' groups you hope to network, learn about the publishing world, obtain feedback on your work and make friends with similar interests.

b) Read a lot of recent children's books. Take notice of what you like and what seems to work. Study the writing. You're reading for research first, pleasure second.

When I visit the local library I look for recent releases. It's important to keep up with the market and what's being published. If you're writing a book about a comet hurtling towards Earth and a book with a similar storyline has been published in the last year, your story is unlikely to be published, no matter how good it is.

c) Read a lot of books about writing for children. It can help to read books about writing in general. But children's books are a specialised field. For example, you need to know the different types of children's books for the various age groups - the word lengths, language, style etc.

d) Write the type of children's books you enjoy the most. Write every day if possible. Practice makes you a better writer. Practice/repetition is how we learn and master tasks.

e) Take courses on writing for children. The writing for children course I did, many years ago, involved weekly writing assignments. I wrote a picture book, easy reader, early chapter book and sections of longer novels, which were all marked by my tutor. Two of my first six published titles were written during this course.

f) Have your manuscripts assessed by a reputable manuscript assessment service. Due to the volume of submissions publishers receive and the quality of some of these submissions, many publishers are now requesting a manuscript assessment accompany every submission.

g) Write down your dreams and goals. Look at them every day. Break them down into small steps if necessary. Your writing activities should move you towards your writing dreams and goals.

h) Enter competitions. Write articles and short stories. Seek ways of filling your writer's cv with publishing credits.

Now you're on your way. From this point on, the secret to becoming a children's author is persistence. I've read and heard quotes from many authors who claim that the secret to their success is persistence.